The Big Girl Bed
by Angelamermaid
Summary: It's a special day for young Chloe Hunt. From my Parentverse.


Chloe bounds into the house, followed by Cristina. "Daddy!"

"Hey!" Owen runs down the stairs. "Guess what I've been working on all day?"

"My room?" She asks hopefully.

"Yes!" Owen scoops up Chloe. "Auntie Callie came over to help me and she's upstairs and your new big girl room is ready now!"

Chloe wriggles. "I wanna see!"

"Just a minute." Owen places her down and helps her remove her coat. He looks up at Cristina. "How is Mallory?"

"She's doing great!" Cristina stretches. "She gained some more weight, she's that much closer to coming home."

"She's our little fighter." He kisses her, while Chloe clings to his leg.

"New room!" She looks up at him and tugs on his hand.

Laughing, he takes her hand. "Okay, let's go."

"We are so proud of you," Cristina says, as she follows them up the stairs. "You're a big girl and now you're leaving your crib and getting a bigger room ..."

Eager, Chloe runs to the closed door that leads to her room. She pauses and looks up at her parents.

"Ready?" Cristina crouches down to her level. "This is a big step for you."

"Ready!" Chloe's eyes dance with excitement.

Owen turns the handle and slowly opens the door.

Their daughter's eyes widen as she takes in the sight. Pink and white stripes cover the walls. A toddler bed with a purple duvet is covered with her favorite toys. The room is bright, with feminine touches. Callie stands by the purple curtains, giddy with anticipation.

"Pwetty!" Chloe says, touching the duvet.

"There's _so much_ pink," Cristina mutters.

"That's her favorite color," Owen reminds her with a whisper.

"Pwetty!" Chloe squats and digs her hands into the fuzzy pink rug by the bed.

"Auntie Callie helped Daddy out a lot," Owen informs Chloe. "Can you say 'thank you'?"

"Tank you!" Chloe wraps her arms around Callie's legs.

"Aw sweetie!" Callie picks up her god-daughter and smooches her cheeks. "It was my honor and pleasure to help with your special big girl room!"

"I have to come in here!" Cristina hisses at Owen. "When I read to her at night, I'm going to see all of the pink!"

"I asked if you wanted to help decorate and you said 'no'," Owen whispers back. "You had your chance!"

"Hello, it's not all pink!" Callie points out. "There are purple and white and blue accents all around!"

Cristina scowls. "Those are pink sheets and pink pillowcases-"

"On a toddler bed with a white frame and a purple duvet," Callie counters.

"The walls are pink!" Cristina gestures wildly.

"And white!" Owen sighs. "I spent a lot of time making the stripes perfect, you know. The walls didn't tape themselves."

"Mommy, so pwetty!" Chloe points to the curtains.

"And they're purple!" Callie laughs.

"We put in a lot of work today to make this room comfortable for Chloe," Owen reminds Cristina. "We assembled furniture and brought in her bookcases and her toys and her clothes while you were out. This is her room, not yours!"

Cristina purses her lips. "Thank you, Callie and Owen."

"Here, try out your new mattress." Owen takes Chloe from Callie and places her on the bed. "What do you think?"

She stands up. "Like it!"

"I think the room is a hit." He chuckles. "Now, since this is a special day for you, why don't we order some pizza for supper?"

Her eyes light up. "Yay!"

oOoOo

Later that evening, Owen dresses Chloe in green pajamas after her bath. "Mommy will be happy with your jammies at least," he chuckles. "Time for bed!"

Chloe runs out of the bathroom and towards the nursery. She pauses when she sees the crib, and the empty spaces where her things were.

"You forgot about your big girl room!" Owen smiles.

Stricken, Chloe looks up at him and starts to cry. "I wanna crib!"

"Aw honey." He crouches down and pulls her into a hug. "It's okay."

"_Don't wanna bed_," she howls.

Cristina comes upstairs. "Is it the pink?"

"I think it's a lot of change at once," he replies, rubbing Chloe's back. "She's had so much change in the last weeks, with you in the hospital and her having to spend so much time at other people's houses. Our big girl has had a lot to deal with."

"And soon Mallory will come home and everything will change again." Cristina sits down beside them. "Poor Chloe."

Sobbing, Chloe turns to her and lets Cristina take her in her arms.

"We'll still read to you every night," she promises her daughter. "Do you want your stories now? Do you want a snack? It's a very special night for you, we could have extra stories and snacks before you go to bed?"

Chloe nods and wipes her eyes.

oOoOo

Later on, Cristina tucks Chloe into her toddler bed, while Owen turns on the night light.

"Feeling better?" Cristina asks, stroking Chloe's cheek.

The little girl smiles and nods.

"And here is your gender-neutral lamb," Owen announces, handing her a treasured toy. "May you have sweet dreams about growing up to be a brilliant surgeon, proving that women can be bad asses while liking the color pink."

Cristina rolls her eyes affectionately, as she kneels beside the bed. "You did a nice job with the stripes. They're very even."

He chuckles as he turns off the overhead light. "Thank you."

"We're going to stay with you until you fall asleep," Cristina promises Chloe. "Your monitor is on, so if you wake up, just yell and we'll come to you."

"Okay." Chloe lays her head against her pillow and clutches her lamb. "Pwetty bed."

"This room is where you will nurture your hopes and dreams and choose your specialty," Cristina informs her. "There is _plenty _of space for your future awards and trophies."

Owen strokes Chloe's curly hair. "When you're older, we'll buy you anatomy charts for the walls. Or maps. Whatever you want."

She dimples as she looks up at him.

"This is your special night," Cristina reminds her. "We both stayed home from the hospital just for you. We love you very much."

"Night night," Chloe yawns.

Owen affectionately kisses her, before sitting down beside the bed and taking Cristina's hand.

"Can we lose the rug?" Cristina whispers. "It looks like a dead Muppet."

"You have to go shopping for a new one then," Owen teases. "But you can pick out whatever crazy color you like."

"Deal." She watches Chloe, whose eyes are already closed. "She's growing up so fast."

"And soon both of our girls will be home," he smiles. "Remember how quiet everything was before we became parents?"

She squeezes his hand. "We got so much sleep back then."

"Look at us now." Owen kisses her hand. "The highlight of our day was a big girl bed."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." They sit in the dim light, and watch their child sleep.


End file.
